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Sweet 'N Low: to use or not to use.

Okay so last night I was talking to my Aunt and she said something to really bothered me. I like to drink a cup of coffee every day and I always put one non-dairy creamer packet and one packet of Sweet N' Low in it for tast. It lets me have my coffee and yet it is still point free for Weight Watchers.

My aunt was telling me that Sweet N' Low was really bad for me and how I really should not drink it at all! I have researched it on the internet and there are so many stories for and against it that I am confused!!

I remember years ago there being big news about saccharin causing cancer in lab animals, but it was in much larger amounts than would be taken in by the average user. Maybe Splenda would be a better option, if you're concerned about it. One of my coworkers was told by her doctor that it was the only sweetner he felt safe about her having during pregnancy, so I'd have to hope it's okay. Then again, I think the calories (if that's the only concern) in a packet of sugar are only about 20 or so...

It's been in use for 50 years. If there were any legitimate medical concerns for ordinary use, it would have been pulled from the shelves long ago. If you haven't been having any problems from ingesting it for the last several time periods, don't let a bunch of internet stories change your mind.

Thanks for all the speedy replies. I would also like to think that if it was really true about Sweet N' Low causing cancers and stuff then the FDA would have pulled it from the shelves ages ago.

I like S&L better because it only takes one packet of it to get it the way I like it. For me to use sugar it would take me anywhere from 2-4 packets to get it right. Since I have been using it for a little over a year now and haven't experienced anything wierd then I am just going to stick to it.

FYI - If you can get to Sams club they sell boxes of 1500 packets of sweet n low for less than $10.00!!!

I accidentally purchased aspartame two weeks ago (the blue stuff - or Equal). I noticed my shoulders started to become a bit sore - I thought with change of weather being cooler maybe i slept funny - but then the soreness woudln't go away - and then i started getting muscle spasms between my shoulder blades - then down my back - this all was happening slowly over the course of about 10 days but I attributed it to the cool damp weather, sleepign funny, etc. and all the while using the aspartame in my coffee, my oatmeal, my yogurt, etc.

For grins one day I did a google search - aspartame muscle aches - I was amazed. It will scare you to read all the negative comments about that stuff. It is a wonder it can still be sold. I immediately threw away what I had left and within 3 days my aches were nearly gone.

Just thought I'd throw that in FYI. I will stick to the Sweet n Low from now on!!!

In our house, we have pink packets AND blue packets ... and I switch off, so I am not getting too much of any ONE artificial sweetener. (Since Splenda/sucralose is so widely used in products, I don't add that one.) This works fine for me.

Hey everybody... I have done some research on those artificial sweetners and I avoid them as much as possible. Just because the FDA approved it, that doesn't mean it's safe. The FDA has very little power over the Large Corporations behind these chemical sweeteners! I have discovered an amazing alternative!!! STEVIA! Stevia is all natural from the stevia plant, it's leaves are 30 times sweeter than sugar.. it takes only a few drops of the extract to sweeten your coffee or tea preferably, stevia has no significant calories and actually helps regulate your blood sugar. Monsanto the company behind aspertame has blocked stevia from being approved by the FDA as a sweetener as they are affraid of the competition...but recently coca cola has been trying to get it approved as a sweetener so you might hear more about it soon. You can buy it as a "herbal supplement" in most health food stores... look into it for yourself..

Maybe if you take the packet, dissolve it in water, in inject it into your bloodstream it MIGHT cause problems, other than that theirs not enough evidence out there that all this artifical crap is bad for you and its really nothing to worry about because before any of that stuff would harm you you would probably have to have like pounds of that stuff every day for years before it would probably harm you...

@kjl315 I have been using equal for almost 7 years. I have not had any of those side effects. Maybe it attributes to something else you are using or doing along with the equal sweetener. All I know is that I love it, I can't taste any difference between it and sugar.

I used to have sugar substitutes w/my coffee (not very long~ maybe a year?) before I saw a program on TV (Alton Brown talked about it on the Food Network) and I asked some Doctors at the Hospital where I work.. and the verdict was: stay as far away as possible from this horrible creation!

Basically, from wheat I remember them saying, the subsitute won't directly affect your health, but it was indirectly affect it.